Stupid political comments, part 2
Karen O'Connor, director of the Women and Politics Institute at American University in Washington, D.C., quoted in a Detroit News story on the role of women in the 2002 election, in Michigan and nationwide:
"Women's groups were afraid early on that if we were at war post 9-11, how would women candidates for Congress fare against male candidates who are seen as best suited to wage war. Women are seen as better suited to issues of heart and home -- like health care, education and fiscal sensibilities -- issues that are dealt with by governors in the states."
I doubt that very many people equate voting in Congress with active military duty, or that the sex of any Senator or Congressperson would have any relevance to national issues relating to war. So long as people like O'Connor are called upon to comment on women's issues, with this type of pigeonhole stereotyping, women won't really be regarded as the equal of men in the political sphere.
O'Connor's comments sound similar to those made by National Republican Committee member Chuck Yob in the spring of this year. Yob's comments were appropriately disavowed by most Michigan Republicans then. Who will similarly speak up now?
8:24:06 AM 
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